AP Photo / Rogelio V. SolisChris Paul was magical in the Hornets' win over the Lakers.

Julian Wright bounced around like it was a party, and a sellout crowd of 18,199 at the New Orleans Arena got in on the action, cheering loudly.

The celebration came after Chris Paul broke through a wall of Los Angeles Lakers' defenders and sent a bullet pass sailing toward Wright, who scored on a dunk that left Kobe Bryant looking concerned with his team trailing by 12 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining.

Three nights after knocking off the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, the Hornets put forth a similar performance to defeat the Western Conference-leading Lakers 108-98 on Friday night, extending their home winning streak to six games.

Despite scoring a game-high 36 points before fouling out with 14.9 seconds remaining, Bryant could not keep Paul and the Hornets from taking control after trailing 49-46 at halftime.

The Hornets (44-20) outscored the Lakers 62-49 in the second half, when Paul scored 17 of his 27 points and had nine of his 17 assists. The Hornets finished 41-of-84 from the field and held the Lakers to 35-of-92 shooting.

"We're at our best when we run, and we did a great job helping defensively," Paul said. "Kobe got 36, but we contained everyone else."

But starting forward David West, who scored 12 points, did not return after spraining his right ankle with 6:51 remaining in fourth quarter. West missed three games with a sprained left ankle before returning Wednesday night against the Spurs.

The Hornets got another scare late in the fourth quarter when Paul tweaked his left ankle. He walked gingerly back to the bench but returned to play the final two minutes. West was not available for comment after the game because he was receiving treatment, but Paul said he was OK and likely would be ready for Sunday's road game against the Detroit Pistons that will be televised on ABC.

With Pau Gasol in the lineup, the Lakers were 15-3 since acquiring him in a February trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. But they played all but the first three minutes without him Friday night. Gasol, who was averaging 19.2 points, suffered a sprained ankle and did not return after going scoreless.

Hornets Coach Byron Scott said the momentum swung to their favor when the Lakers did not have their best post player.

"It changed big-time because of the fact that we didn't have to think about him on that post," Scott said. "It gave Tyson (Chandler) more of a free reign to guard different guys, and he really didn't have to worry about being such a big defender. He knew he was going to have his work cut out for him with Pau down there."

Chandler had 14 points and 20 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic scored 15 points, and Wright came off the bench to score nine. In the past four games, Wright has averaged 11 points and 23 minutes.

The Hornets trail the Lakers and Houston Rockets (both 45-20) by a half game in the conference. The Hornets have won five of six overall.

"They had a lot of second opportunities, and they got a lot of interior shots from offensive rebounds," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "They had a better choice of shots. He (Paul) has the ball in his hands for 40 of the minutes he played. I mean something's got to happen around that."

The Hornets took a 62-56 lead in the third quarter before Bryant scored nine consecutive points to tie score at 65. New Orleans surged during the final three minutes of the third quarter after Chandler's alley-oop dunk gave the Hornets a 73-70 lead.

After Jordan Farmer closed the deficit to 74-72, Paul's 3-pointer and free throw extended the Hornets' lead to six. They led 80-72 at the end of the third quarter after Jannero Pargo hit Chandler coming down the lane for a dunk.

"I am not sure if it was necessarily the most physical game we've played, but there definitely were a lot of injuries out there and a lot of banging," Chandler said.

The Hornets had four turnovers on their first seven possessions. They closed the first half with 10. In the first 12 minutes, Paul took only two shots, but he scored eight of his 10 points in the first half during the second quarter.